From 'a lost cause' to 'very generous': Trump changes his tone toward Spain before returning to the US

Hours after mentioning it at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit and threatening to cut all trade ties, President Donald Trump changed his tone toward Spain, stating that "it was very generous today," without specifying regarding which issues.

"I’ll say that I’ve had problems with Spain, and I still do, but today Spain completely backtracked. Spain was very generous today," Trump said. "It responded to a request to make a very significant payment, and if it hadn’t, we wouldn’t even be talking to them."

Earlier, from Ankara, Turkey, where the alliance’s leaders were meeting, Trump described Spain as “a lost cause.”

“We no longer want to do any business with Spain. Spain is a terrible ally in NATO. It doesn’t participate; it doesn’t pay. I don’t want anything to do with Spain. Cut off all trade with Spain, please, including visits. We don’t want anything to do with them,” Trump added.

"Do it immediately. Don’t even talk to them. They’re hopeless. They’re bad people. Because, as you know, everyone else is paying and working, and Spain, especially Spain… There are a couple of other countries, but especially Spain. They say it openly, they’re hostile,” the president declared.

Golf and the 2026 World Cup

President Trump's characterization of Spain stems from its refusal to increase defense spending and from Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's refusal to support U.S. military strikes against Iran.

For his part, when asked about Trump’s remarks, Sánchez confirmed that he had a conversation that was “cordial” with the president in Ankara, during which they discussed matters unrelated to politics and diplomacy.

"There was no tension whatsoever; everything was friendly," Sánchez noted. "We talked about the 2026 World Cup and golf, a sport of which Trump is a great fan." Regarding relations between the two countries, the Spanish prime minister assured that they are "very positive."